Housing
Why 2014 Marked a Historic Shift in Housing Arrangements
For the first time since the 1880s, more young Americans are living with their parents than with a romantic partner.
From stealth dorms to pod apartments, young Americans are finding all kinds of new ways to live within their means, on their own. But a historic share of 18- to 34-year-olds are relying on the most affordable housing strategy of all: their parents’ house.
A new report by the Pew Research Center finds that for the first time since the 1880s, more young adults in the U.S. are living with their parents than with a romantic partner in their own household. This turn comes as the result of shifts in marriage norms, grim economic realities, and growing college enrollment, both before and after the Great Recession and recent improvements in the labor market.